Goa church flip-flops on Constitution comment
Panaji, June 5: The Goa Church on Tuesday tried to tone down the sharp criticism of the political situation in India in Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao's annual pastoral letter, with a senior official at the Bishop's House insisting that "one or two statements" made by the top church functionary were taken out of context.
Secretary to the Bishop Father Joaquim Loiola Pereira told reporters here that the main theme of the pastoral letter was poverty and that reference to the Constitution being in danger was only a peripheral issue.
Partially distancing Ferrao from the authorship of the letter, Pereira also said that the letter was written over a period of time after seeking inputs from a cross section of the society.
"One thing has to be clarified here that the pastoral letter is signed by the Bishop, but it is not a product of one mind. The writing of the pastoral letter starts about six months before. People from different categories are consulted on what to write. What are the problems that are seen in the Church in Goa. There was a consultation at different levels," Pereira said.
Referring to the mention of the Constitution being in danger in the pastoral letter, Pereira said: "It is not one of the main statements. The pastoral letter is about poverty. That statement (reference to Constitution in danger) has come there as a peripheral statement.
"One or two statements of the Bishop have been taken out and I will say taken out of context and made an issue out of. My thing is this, we do not make any further comments and explanations of the letter," Pereira told reporters here.
The pastoral letter, formally released by Ferrao on Sunday, said that the Indian Constitution was in danger and that a "new trend" of monoculturalism, which demands uniformity in what and how one eats, dresses, lives and even worships, was putting human rights at risk.
"At the time of elections, the candidates confuse the minds of many people by making false promises. And the people, on their part, often sell their precious vote for selfish, petty gains.
"In this context, particularly as the general elections are fast approaching, we must strive to know our Constitution better and work harder to protect it.
"Today, our Constitution is in danger, (it is a) reason why most of the people live in insecurity," Ferrao said in his pastoral letter for 2018-19 which was formally released on Sunday but circulated only on Monday.
The pastoral letter is an annual letter written in June by Archbishops to Church parishes across the state.
Ferrao, as Archbishop of Goa, is the spiritual and religious leader of Catholics in Goa who account for 26 per cent of the state's population of 1.5 million.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
